Improvement in clocks



@uitrit tntrs @nicht @ffies Leners Patent No, 76,37), dans .4pm ,7, 186s.

iurnovnurur vIN CLOCKS.1

tithe ,Stimuli taunt in in lgest Tutos @anni mit making-spurt of igtsnme. f

To ALL WHCM. 1T MAY CCNCRM.

Be it knownl that I, ROBERT WooLwonTH, of New Haven, in the countyof New Haven,and State of Connecticut, have invented-a new Improvement in"Cloe`ks; und- Ido hereby declare 'the following,bwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawing-s, and the letters ofreference marked thereon, t`o be-a full, clear, and exact description of. the same, and whiohsaiddrawings constitute partpf this specification, and represent, inw- Figure 1, a front view of a clock-movement embodying :uy-improvement.` l. Figure 2, "n side View and in i' YFigure 3, detached views.-

- -This invention relatesto an improvement in the striking part of the movement,,wherebygreaterpei'fection isattained, and atless cost of construction, audlconsis'ts in the peculiar construction of the count-wheel. ,l

A'loenable others to construct my improvement, I will proceed to describe the saine as illustrated in the -accompanying drawings. I

A is the front plate, and B the rear plate, between which are'placed the wheels and parts'ofthe movement,

in' the usual manner. C is the weight or' spring-drum this is generally iixed to a gear-wheel, having theirelative 'position of the wheel D in the drawings, and upon .the -sam shaft is usually placed the countwheel, having,

seventy-eight divisions, (being the number of strokes every twelve hours,) sothat from strikingon'e'to twelve, the wheel revolves once, and it-is caused to soi-evolve, by a 'pin on th'e shaft E, the said-shaft revolving once to each stroke of the hammer; thus the count-wheel is an independent wheel. By my invention, the wheel D not jonly serves 4the pnrpose'of the wheel usually in that place, but also of the coiintfwheeh I form .the wheelD of the properfsize, andv attached to the drum inthe usual'manner, but-1 cut'upon it twenty-six teeth, and so that the width of the tooth is .equal to about one-third the pitch, or so as to give a space between the teeth about double thewidth ofthe tooth.

The said wheelDfmeshes'into a. pinion, I, on the shaft andren the said shaftthe strike-wheel Fis ilxed. The said 'pinion is here represented as having ten teeth,and formedto correspond' to the teeth on the wheel D.; In this case, each tooth is formed by the Linsertion of two wires for each tooth, and in the usual manner for making clock-pinions, but in Figure 4, show the pinion'as with cut teeth. l

The proper number of teeth for this -pinion is derived in thefollowing manner: I select, as a basis, any number, of which 78, (the number of strokes in twelve hours,) is not multiple, and. itself'(the basis) not the multiple of 2 or 3, 'as 5, 7, 11, Sie., or two, three, or four times either` of these numbers, then form this number of teeth, 5, 7, 11, Sie., or any number. of times that number, (here'represented as twicefive,) then into the wheel For strikeavheel, insert three strike-pins to each of the number, (in this case twice three.)

From the strikewheel, the hammer J is arranged to be operated in the usual manner by a lever, lc, extend-v ing up to the pins' on the strike-wheel, and the count-hook G is arranged in the usual manner, with a lever, d,

"lfrom the same shaft on to the cam-wheelf, so as to operate the countshook, as in clocks of common construe tion, thesaid cam-wheel being operated so as to revolve once to each'strokeof the hammer, or if more than one let-oil" be on the cam, then a proportionately less number of times, as here represented. The shaft E makes but one-revolution to each stroke of the hammer.` i v Astthe strike-wheel, as before described, is constructed so as to strike three blows for each five teeth ofthe pinion, it follows that the wheel D will move`ve seventy-,eighths of a revolution, (which is one pitch and twothirds of a pito-h) to each stroke-of the hammerj therefore, to strike the seventy-eight blows required forrthe twelve hours, the count-wheel D must revolve ve times. around,' and the -slots in the count-wheel-be-arranged so that the count-hook G will drop into the proper slot to arrest the movementat the proper time. These slots' are arranged in the following manner, as illustrated in g 3: 'l

The first Aslot made at12. The slot in which the clock will strike one, and urrest,mnst,be ata distance from` the Aslot 12 equal to onepitch and two-thirds 'of a pitch, which is at l, then the countlhook will fall, and arrest the movement in the usual manner. Them-to strike two, the slot must be at twice that distance from the slot'l.

The iirst stroke will beupon the point of the. tooth la, the next stroke being at 2 and -into lthe slot, and will there arrest the wheel. 'To strike three, the count-hook passes over three timesthe distance, strikingiutothe slot 3; to

strike four, into the slot 4; to strike tive, intothe. slot 5; to lstrike six, into lthe slot 6; to strike seven, into theV 28101;;l and-'eight, into theislot 8 nine, into vthe slot`9; ten, into the slot 10,A eleven, into the slot 11; and twelve, into the slot 12 or place of beginning, the wheel having passed through five. full'revolutions, for as each stroke requires tivelthirds of a.pitch, and as thereare seventy-eight such thirds in cach revolution, the counthook will have passed the rst time around two of'the'sejhir'ds of a pitch beyond the place of beginning or slot 12; therefore, as the hook on its succeeding revolutions never strikes the same point until after it has completed ik its iive full revolutionsgthe several slots `are arranged as before described, so as to he in propelposition'for 'each hour during the live full lrevolutions.. l

Asthe count-hook strikes at every one land twofthirds of a pitch, it follows that every third stroke must be upon the point-offs tooth, as first shown upon the; tooth a, and from Vthis pointjt will strike upon the point of every fifth tooth; To prevent the count-hook from dropping hard upon the tooth, or so as, by accident or otherwise, to catch upon the'tooth, Ielo'ngate' two of thenpins s andt on'the strike-wheel F, as denoted in Figure 5, the two said pins being opposite to each other, as seen in tig'. 4. Then from the shaft T, (to'which the copnt-hook is ttached,) Iextend a lever, L, s'o that the said pins .a andt lwill, in revolving, strike the lever L, and raise the hook G, and the strike-wheel Fis set in such relative position tothe count-wheel that the said pins s and tzwill operate to raise the hook at every third stroke or fth tooth on the wheel; otherwise the operation of the counthook and the construction of the movement, in connection with the time-movement, s'o as to raise' the count-hook at the proper time, are' the-sam'eas'in clocks of common construction.'

.It'shouldbe'observed thatithc coun'tiwheel isfhere divided, o r the slots located upon the basis of five (or twice ve) teeth on the pinion, which gives. tothe count-wheel themovement ofve seventyeighths of a revolution to each stroke. If other'numbersas 7, is the basis, then the conntwheel must be slotted' accordingly, and

arranged for 'seven seventyeighths to each stroke, and seven full'revolutions for the seventyleight strokes, and

so on fr'any other basis.

f I havo'represented the count-wheell us operating upon the drum-shaft, but I donot wish to be understood as confining myself to that position, as it maybe placed in other positions, and in some classes of clocks itmay f .be better to do so. Such change or adaptation those skilled in the'construction of clockfm'ovements will, by the foregoing, be enabled to` make. 5

Having 'thus' fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

wheel, the count-hook will fall into the proper slot to arrest the-movement ofthe wheel at the' proper time, and so-that the given number of revolutions more than one of the said wheel will complete the strokes required for each twelve hours,.thesaid 'wheel at the completion of suchnumber of revolutions arriving at the point of starting, as herein set forth. r i 'L i `v 2. The combination of the count-wheel D and pinion I, each bearingto the .other the relative proportion, and so as to operate substantially as specified.' i

3. The arrangement 'of the strike-wheel F`witl1 the count-hook, and combined with the count-wheel D, so as to operate substantially as s et forthi ROBERT WOOLWORTH.

Witnesses:

JOHN E, EAnLs,j

`A. J.A Tramos.

- The count-wheel D, divided substantially in the manner described, so that in the revolution of the said 

